Opinion

Oil industry wooing young professionals to Denver

Contractors for Anadarko Petroleum Corporation are seen on a drilling rig near Platteville in this March 2012 file photo. (RJ Sangosti, The Denver Post)

Late last year, the International Energy Agency announced that U.S. oil production is poised to surpass Saudi Arabia's by 2020. That announcement — later disputed but not debunked — not only sent energy tidal waves across the industry, but the world as well.

In a classic example of the student becoming the master, our oil-producing ally in the Middle East may soon be in our rearview mirror. Average citizens and elected officeholders alike quickly recognized the implications for job growth, economic investment and national security.

Sitting in the wings, ready to capitalize, is Denver, home to hundreds of companies that benefit from a vibrant energy economy. And Denver's growing base of young professionals in energy is certainly taking note.

The oil and gas industry is actually made up of several smaller sectors, each with varying economic power. What makes the oil and gas industry unique is that it can spur additional jobs in several other employment sectors simultaneously.

Take, for instance, the exploration and production sector — or E&P — which is responsible for discovering, developing, and producing oil and gas. An E&P company typically has to hire construction labor, archaeologists, surveyors, environmental consultants, wildlife biologists and other specialists before the well is ever drilled.

The E&P industry doesn't just employ drillers and drilling-related jobs; it also supports a chain of industries of indirect and induced jobs that add to its overall economic power.

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According to John Dunham & Associates, a respected economics firm, the 13-state Western E&P sector alone employs 229,150 workers and generates more than $51 billion in economic impact, revealing its far-reaching benefit nationwide. The Western E&P sector provides more than $15.5 billion in wages to American working families and nearly $13 billion in taxes annually, making it a critical source of revenue to local, state and federal governments.

Dunham's analysis ranked Western E&P in three key categories: jobs, economic output, and wages. Leading this job and economic charge in all three categories is Colorado. And the opportunities for oil and gas in the West seem promising for years to come.

The Western Energy Alliance's Blueprint for Western Energy Prosperity finds that by 2020, the West could produce as much oil and natural gas on a daily basis as the U.S. imports from Russia, Iraq, Colombia, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Algeria and Nigeria combined. The report, conducted by EIS Solutions with data analysis by ICF International, provides evidence that just six major oil- and natural gas-producing states in the West have the ability to help rebuild the economy and create jobs while displacing foreign imports. The study concludes that if Western producers are allowed to develop the vast domestic energy resources found on public lands, investment in the region could double to $58 billion annually by 2020, and direct, indirect and induced jobs will increase by 16 percent.

Whether you're a recent graduate from the Colorado School of Mines, or choosing to end your education after high school, there's a job for you in the oil and gas industry. Even in a bleak economy, the U.S. oil and gas industry generated 9 percent of all new U.S. jobs in 2011, according to the World Economic Forum. It's no surprise young professionals are turning toward jobs in energy — and a growing number of them have set their sights set on Denver.

Add Colorado's world-class reputation for outdoor recreation and desirable quality of life, and the list of reasons young professionals in oil and gas are choosing Denver continues to grow. We've seen this interest cause chapter membership within Young Professionals in Energy to explode over the last year.

As national and local policymakers continue to ponder how to curb our economic woes, the energy industry continues to surface as the answer to our problems.

Parker Heikes and John Heinle are co-chairmen of the Denver chapter of Young Professionals in Energy.

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